The heart seems to work independently of the mind far more than it should. We repeatedly tell ourselves, "This time things are gonna be different" or to borrow from Teddy, "This time I'm gonna win". Next thing you know, you're losing again, and cursing the day you were foolish enough to believe otherwise. All the coverage about relationships in the past few months seems to have skipped over the disenfranchised, that segment of the population that has repeatedly been knocked back in their attempts at love. Those folks that have simply said enough is enough and decided to opt out of the relationship game altogether. Those that have tried to hold on, but their faith is gone and to them, love is just another sad song.

I've been on the periphery of that group for the last few years, not totally ready to throw in the towel, but not eager to jump into a relationship either. I guess I'll compare it to the double-dutch jumpers of yesteryear waiting for the right time to jump in, steady bobbing and hedging, waiting until I can match the rhythm of the rope. Funny thing about rhythm, sometimes the tempo changes and you're left off-beat, wondering what happened.